GB1010854A - Process for the preparation of precooked rice - Google Patents

Abstract

1,010,854. Pre-cooked rice products. RIVER BRAND RICE MILLS Inc. Jan. 3, 1963 [Jan. 3, 1962; June 13, 1962], No. 390/63. Heading A2Q. In preparing a pre-cooked rice product, grains of rice, e.g. white or brown raw rice or parboiled rice, are heated to a relatively high temperature, e.g. between 120‹ and 220‹F. for raw rice, or between 200‹ and 225‹F. for parboiled rice, then cooled to a lower temperature, e.g. between 60‹ and 100‹F., and heated again to a relatively high temperature, e.g. between 120‹ and 230‹F. for raw rice, or between 200‹ and 225‹F. for parboiled rice, which heating- cooling-heating cycle may be repeated, to produce rifts, crevices, cracks and chinks in the grains thus making them highly permeable and absorptive to water and/or water vapour. The grains may be heated and cooled by hot and cold air and may be in the form of a bed, between 1 and 3 inches thick, on one or more, e.g. three, travelling conveyers. The bed may be quiescent or fluidized by the hot and cold air. The grains are then cooked, e.g. at atmospheric pressure or at a pressure not exceeding this by more than 5 p.s.i., in hot water, e.g. at a temperature of 195‹ to 210‹F., followed, if desired, by cooking in steam, until they are substantially completely gelatinized. The water-cooked grains may be cooled, i.e. quenched, in cold water or air before they are finally cooked in steam. The cooking water may be distilled water or water having a pH between 5 and 7. The cooked grains are then dried, continuously or in batches, by a hot gas, such as air or nitrogen, until they have a stable moisture content, e.g. between 6 and 11 per cent., by weight. The resulting dried, pre-cooked rice grains may be enriched with a vitamin and packed. The cooked rice grains may be dried by a hot gas in two stages, namely at a temperature between 250‹ and 350‹F. for raw rice, or between 300‹ and 360‹F. for parboiled rice, and then at a temperature between 210‹ and 280‹F. The hot gas may be passed upwardly and downwardly through a bed of cooked grains. Additives, such as flavourings, seasonings and emulsifiers, may be sprayed on to the grains between the drying stages. The cooked rice grains may be cooled and washed in cold water, e.g. having a pH between 7 and 8, before they are dried. Brown rice grains, after having been heated, cooled and re-heated in the above-mentioned manner, may be soaked in tepid water before being cooked.